Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Creation of Earth
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Genesis 1:1-2
God originally created the earth with such perfection and beauty that the angels shouted with joy! Our Creator does all things in an organized manner and completes all His works in exquisite splendor. But the earth had somehow become formless and chaotic so that God had to refashion it before man could be created.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Basic Doctrines: Satan's Origin and Destiny
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Genesis 1:2
Verse 2 pictures the earth as a cold, dark, uninhabitable place covered with water: "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep." Why would this be? Other scriptures indicate that God originally created the earth perfect and beautiful and ready to be inhabited (Job 38:4-7; Isaiah 45:18). And since the sun had already been created, why would the earth be dark? The best explanation for this condition is that a great destruction had occurred when, sometime in prehistory, Helel (who became Satan) and his angels rebelled against God's authority and tried to overthrow Him (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-16). This great war (Revelation 12:7-8) apparently caused an enormous amount of destruction to occur in the solar system. The resultant interplanetary debris and dust, some of which descended into earth's atmosphere, prevented the light from the sun and moon from reaching the earth.
Earl L. Henn
Genesis 1: Fact or Fiction?
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Genesis 1:9-13
These verses describe the events of the third creation day, on which God formed the ocean basins and the continental land masses: "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear" (verse 9). Geologic evidence shows that over time the great land masses have "drifted" across the face of the earth. Apparently, in this renewing of the earth, God configured the land masses to suit His plan for the families of humanity. Finally, in verses 11-12, God creates the first life forms: grass, herbs, and trees. Since the creation of vegetation is not mentioned anywhere else, it seems reasonable to conclude that God created all forms of vegetation on this day.
Earl L. Henn
Genesis 1: Fact or Fiction?
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Genesis 1:20-25
Verses 20-23 describe the creation of the first animals, the fish and other animals that live in the ocean, and birds that fly in the air. God creates land animals in verses 24-25. It is interesting that God does not specifically mention the creation of flying insects, fungi, bacteria, and many other living things. This is because the creation account is a very brief, condensed version of what happened. We know from many other scriptures (e.g., Exodus 20:11; John 1:3) that God is the Creator of everything that exists.
Earl L. Henn
Genesis 1: Fact or Fiction?
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Exodus 20:11
Some may use this verse to say that God created everything in six days. However, "heavens" refers to the earth's atmosphere, not to outer space. The Bible recognizes three heavens (II Corinthians 12:2). The first heaven is the earth's atmosphere; the second, outer space; and the third is the throne of God.
Earl L. Henn
Genesis 1: Fact or Fiction?
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Psalm 104:30
The Knox translation of the Bible renders this, "Then You send forth Your spirit and there is fresh creation." The Holy Spirit is the means, the channel, through which God's creative energy or power is manifested. Here, it is portrayed strictly in a physical application. However, if God did not send forth His Spirit, there would have been neither "a creation" nor a "renewing." If God had not sent forth His Spirit, either earth would never have appeared, or it would have remained in a state of destruction.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Pentecost and the Holy Spirit
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Revelation 11:18
We need to expand our thinking on the word "earth" and understand that it figuratively, metaphorically, represents all of creation. It is not just the earth, the orb that is spinning around through space on its appointed path, but all of the things that are on the earth. Above all, it refers to mankind, which lives on the earth. God says He will destroy those who destroy the creation, and that includes themselves. When man does that, he is telling God that we do not appreciate what He has given us. We have a love of beauty without the love of doing what is right in order to maintain correctly what He has given to us. By far and away, the most important abuse in all of creation deals with man's relationships with God and fellow man. We abuse our relationships because we do not love righteousness along with beauty. Rather than dressing and keeping the relationships through a love of righteousness, we use and abuse them, too. We can see this in the divorce rate. People do not get divorces because they love one another. It is because one or the other spouse, or both, have abused the relationship. So the marriage, which was created by God to be the environment in which His spiritual creation would be carried out, is destroyed! Again, God is going to destroy those who destroy the earth, His creation. The basic reason this occurs is addressed in I John. It is the lack of love for God and of God that is causing this. Loving God is a choice that is open to all Christians. If one does not consider God beautiful and choose to love Him, the only alternative is self-centeredness. We turn our love in on ourselves, and instead of seeking to please God within a relationship with Him, we instead choose unrighteousness or sin, abusing the relationship between Him and us. All love for fellow man begins first with the love for God. This is why I John tells us it is impossible to love man without loving God first. We must start thinking about what are we doing in our lives to build our relationship with God, because that relationship is salvation! Is God beautiful to us? Is God's way beautiful to us? If it is not, the self-centeredness will lead to abuse. Self-centeredness is the hallmark of worldliness.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Laodiceanism
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